The present invention relates to a railroad bumping post and, in particular, to a fixed bumping post for use in coupling railroad cars.
Bumping posts for use on railroad tracks are known. Such bumping posts include bumping posts useful for coupling railroad vehicles. With such coupling bumping posts, railroad cars are intentionally driven into the bumping posts so as to engage mechanical coupling mechanisms between the cars. Such coupling bumper posts are provided in railroad yards where various railroad cars are to be coupled into a train. To couple a new car or grouping of cars to an existing train, an engine will sandwich the new car or cars between the existing train and the coupling bumper posts to compress the train and new cars together and ensure coupling of mechanical coupling devices between the existing train and the new cars. Typically, in assembling a train, the engine will bump cars into the coupling bumping post numerous times. Preferably, the trains are controlled to engage the coupling bumping posts with as small as possible force as is necessary to ensure coupling between the cars. However, even when care is taken in operating the trains, with time and repeated impacts, the bumping posts or the rails on which they are coupled are subject to mechanical failure. As well, due to operator error, a train will, from time to time, impact the coupling bumper posts with excessive force and thereby cause immediate mechanical failure.
Coupling bumper posts have to be replaced periodically and when they may fail, need to be replaced promptly to permit continued operation of the railroad yard. Previously known coupling bumper posts suffer the disadvantage that they cannot easily and speedily be removed and installed.
Aside from coupling bumper posts, other bumping posts are well known which are provided for safety, that is, to stop runaway trains and the like. Many such safety bumper posts are known which are adapted to move along the rails so as to provide resistance. Such safety bumper posts which slide along the rails are designed to dissipate over time and distance the very substantial forces required to stop a moving train. Such safety bumping posts are designed to stop trains of varying weights and travelling at varying speeds. Such safety bumper posts typically have shoes or other mechanisms which are to engage the rail and with increased longitudinal sliding along the rails gradually increase the resistance to movement.
Known safety bumping posts typically have relatively complex construction with the result that the safety bumping posts are relatively expensive and would not be economically feasible for use as coupling bumping posts.
To at least partially overcome these disadvantages of previously known devices, the present invention provides a railroad bumping post with coupling mechanisms which form a box about each rail and permit wedging of the rail within the box to secure the bumping post to the rails. Preferably, the coupling mechanisms have removable laterally slidable components to form the box about a rail which slidable components are added after the bumping post has been placed on the rails. Preferably, the coupling mechanism with the slidable components removed form feet to receive the rails and support the bumping post stabily on the rails while the slidable components are applied.
An object of the present invention is to provide a bumping post which can easily be coupled and uncoupled to railroad rails.
Another object is to provide a bumping post which has feet to be safely self supporting on railroad rails prior to being clamped thereto.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides a bumping post assembly for securing to rails of a railroad tack, the assembly having a frame supporting a bumper member positioned for engagement by a railroad vehicle on the rails,
a box-forming coupling foot for coupling the frame to a railroad rail,
the foot comprising a top member and two laterally spaced side members,
the side members extending downwardly from the top member to define a channelway under the top member and between the side members opening downwardly and adapted to receive a rail under the top member with one side member on each side of the rail and each side member extending downwardly beyond the rail,
a removable bottom member extending under the rail from one side member to the other side member and coupled to each of the side members to limit relative movement of the bottom member downwardly away from the top member,
the bottom member removably coupled to the side members for removal by movement in a generally horizontal direction,
a wedge member for wedging insertion between the top member and a rail received thereunder to wedge the rail vertically between the top member and the bottom member when the bottom member extends under the rail between the side members to enclose the channelway.